Hall lantern



July '15, 1930. A. E. BOEHME E AL 1,

HALL LANTERN Filed Jan. 14, 1928 5 R 0 T N E v m ATTORNEY Patented July 15,1930

ia'zanfa ARTHUR E. BOEEIVEE AND FRED A; NESTLE, 0F ASTORIA, NEVJ' YORK; ASSIGNORS TO OTIS ELEVATOR GOMPAITY OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATIGN OF .NEVJ JERSEY HALL LANTEr-ai Application filed Ja1iuary 14, 1928." Serial No. 246,749.

The invention relates to lanterns and particularly to hall lanterns employed in elevator systems. a

In elevator systemshallflanterns are frequently provided at each floor, for indicating to prospective passengers at any one floor the approach of an elevator car in a proper direction to that floor. Push buttons are provided for enabling the prospective passenger to indicate to the elevator operators his desire to go up or down. Mechanism is employed for causing the hall lantern to indioatethat a car is approaching in a proper direction a floor from which the prospective passenger has indicated his desire by pushing a particular button. It is desirable, particularly in large buildings where speed. in trans porta ion is a most material object,that little time be lost. 3 Much time can be saved in clearly indicating, in anunmistakable mannor, to prospective passengers the direction in which an approaching car is moving, and the car having been stopped, in clearly indicating the direction in which it'is going'to move.

One feature'of the invention is the provision of a lantern that causes the word Up to appear for indicating upward movement of the elevator car, and that causes the word Down to appear for indicating downward movement of the elevator car. p Z, I

A econd feature of the invention is the provision of a. lantern in which means are employed for causing the word Up to apopear in the same space allotted to the word 77 it g I i A third feature of the invention is the'provision of a lantern in which means are provided for causing the word Up and the word Down to appear in differently colored letters. r V v A fourth feature ofthe invention is. the provision of a lantern in which means are employed for causing images, indicating the direction of movement of an elevator car, to he projected upon a screen, the screen being visible from the exterior of the lantern and the images being preferably in the form of words, for instance Up and'Down.

' A fifth feature of the invention is the proappended claims;-

vision of a lantern in whichlamps' areprovided for projecting rays oflight upon the screen, a stencil ha ving the words Up and Down cut therein, being employed to block off all rays of light to the screenzexcept those allowed to pass through the cut out portions of the stencil defining either of the words Up or Down whereby the words are formed upon of light. Y V i -A sixth feature of the invention is: the provision of a lantern in 'wl'iich a bell is employed for causing an audible si-gnal' to be given, when either the-word Up 'or Down the screen by the projected rays is flashed upon the screen, warning prospective passengers that a car is approaching the rloor. I

any floor of an installation,- either the ter-v mina-l or intermediate, without any change in its design whatsoever.

, An eighth feature of the provision of a lantern that is of very siinple construction and that is of very small size,

A seventh feature of the linve 'ntion is the provision of a lantern that may used at invention is the particularly in height, thereby rendering the lantern especially suited for installations V Gther features and advanta es will become description and apparent from thefollowing In the drawings: p Figure'l is a schematic representation of several sh'aftway doors provided with hall lanterns constructed in accordance with the invention; 7

Figure 2 is a plan of the hall lantern with portions broken away to illustrate certain structural details .Figure 3 is an elevationof the hall lan tern with portions broken away to illustrate certain structural details; j Figure 4 is a sectional view of the hall lantern takenthroughthe line -l of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a plan of a modification of the hall lantern; and P Figure 6 is a plan of another modification of the hall lantern.

' Referring-t0 Fi 'ure 1, the shaftway doors are indicated bythe numeral 10. Hall lanterns 11 are provided for indicating to prospective passengers the approach of an elevator car in a proper direction.

The construction of hall lantern 11 is shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. A casing 12 is provided for housing the elements that make up the lantern. An up signal lamp 13 and a down signal lamp 14 are positioned within casing 12. These lamps are of the spotfilament type providing as near as is practical a point source of light. A stencil 15 is placed within casing 12, recesses 16 being provided for holding the stencil in proper position relative to lamps 13 and 14. The words Up and Down are cut within sten oil 15, stencil 15 serving to block off all rays of light from the lamps 13 and 14 except those rays that are allowed to pass through the cut out portions. A partition 17 is placed be tween lamps 13 and 14 and extends from a point between the words Up.and Down, cut in stencil 15, to the rear wall of casing 12, and from the bottom of casing 12 to the top thereof. Partition 17 thereby forms two chambers, 18 and 20, within casing 12, chamber 18 housing lamp 13 and chamber 20 housing lamp 14. Thus, when either of lamps 13 or 14 is lighted, all light is excluded from the chamber other than the one housing the lighted lamp. The cut out portions of stencil 15 forming the word Up are the only apertures through which light rays may pass from chamber 18, and the cut out portions of stencil 15 forming the word Down are the only apertures through which light rays may pass from chamber 20. The light rays passing through stencil 15 from chambers 18 or 20 are projected upon a screen 21. Screen 21 is preferably milk colored and may be formed by placing a thin film of mill: colorc l glass on one side of a piece of clear glass. The thin film acts as a screen upon which the rays of light are projected and being thin readily permits the rays to show through the clear glass and be seen from the exterior of the lantern. Vhen lan1p=13 is lighted, the word Up is projected upon screen 21, and when lamp 14 is lighted, the wort Down is projected upon screen 21. Recesses 19 serve to hold screen 2 in place, preferably parallel with stencil 15. It is desirable that the words Up and Down appear in dilferent colors when projected upon screen 21, for instance Up may appear in green lettes and Down in red letters. The colored letters may be obtained by placing pieces of colored glass in the path of the light rays. A green transparent glass is placed in the path of the light rays from lamp 13, and a red transparent glass 23 is placed in the path of the light rays from lamp 14. The colored glasses 22 and 23 are preferably placed between their respective lamps 13 and 14 and stencil 15 and are held in place by recesses 16. Thus, when lamp 13 is lighted, the word Up appears upon screen 21 in green letters, and when lamp 14 is lighted, the word Down appears upon screen 21 in red letters. When neither of the lamps 13 or 14 is lighted, no lettering can be seen, the screen presenting a whitish appearance.

It is sometimes desirable that an audible signal be given at the same time that a visual signal appears upon screen 21. An electric bell 24, preferably of the single stroke type, is provided for supplying the audible signal. Bell 24 is mounted within casing 12. A partition 25 is placed between lamp 14 and bell 24 for preventing any possible reflection from the polished surfaces of the bell.

A cover plate 26 is provided for casing 12. The interior surfaces of plate 26 and casing 12, and the surfaces of partitions 17 and are of dull black, thereby eliminating any possibility of reflection.

The location of lamps 13 and 14, of stencil 15 and screen 21 relative to each other is determined by the size of projected letters desired, and by the positions that it is desired to project the letters upon screen 21. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the lamps, stencil and screen are so arranged that when lamp 14 is lighted, the word Down is projected symmetrically upon screen 21, and that when lamp 13 is lighted, the word Up is projected symmetrically upon screen 21, and in the center of the space occupied by the word Down when projected upon the scree As shown, the distance between stencil 15 and the sources of light is equal approximately to the distance between stencil 15 and screen 21. Therefore, the letters projected upon screen 21 are approximately twice the size of the letters out within stencil 15. Referring to Figure 2, the length of the word Down within stencil 15 is designated by aZ) and that of the projected word Down upon screen 21 by c(Z. The length of th word Up within stencil 15 is designated by e;' and that of the projected word Up upon screen 21 by -gh. The height of the letters of each word out within stencil 15 is the same, consequently the height or" the projected words upon screen 21 is the same. Referring to Figure 4, the height of the letters out within stencil 15 is designated by mn and the height of the projected letters upon screen 21 by rs.

The hall lantern may be used for a variety of purposes but is of particular utility in an elevator system where it is desired to signal to prospective passengers the approach of an elevator car in a proper direction. In such a system the prospective passenger indicates to the car operators, by some means, general- 1 7 controlled by a push button, his desire to go up or down. When an elevator car approaches a floor, from which a passenger has Cil indicated his desire to go up or down, and the car is moving in the proper direction, a hall lantern is energizedyindicatin the approach 'of the car. After the "passenger has boarded thecar and the car is moving from the floor, the lantern is deenergized. v 'Assume-the lantern tov be installed in such a system and a passenger at a certain floor to have indicated his desire to go down. When the next elevator car approaches that floor in a down direction, the word Down is flashed upon screen 21 in red letters. At the same time, bell 24 is energized giving an audible warnin to the ro's ective nassene'er that a car is approaching, the projected word definitely pointing out that the car is the proper one. lVhen the car leavesthe floor, the word Dow'n? disappears. Had the prospective passenger indicatedhis desire to go up and a car approaches that floor in an up direction,

the word Up is flashed upon screen 21 in green letters, and at thesame time, bell 24 A lantern is shown in Figure that is particularly useful in such an installation." A casing is provided for housing the elements that make up the lantern. Casing 30 comprises a base portion 31 and a projecting portion 32..

Projecting portion 32 approximates a triangle in section, the base of thetriangle being merged in base portion 31. A partition 33 separates casing 30 into two chambers 34. The construction of the lantern upon each side of partition 33 is identical, each side being, in eiiect, a single lantern of the type shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive. A stencil 36, in which is cut the words Up and Down, is mounted within each chamber 34, recesses 37 being provided within casing 30 for holding the stencils inpl'ace. A partition 38 is placed within each chamber 34 and subdividesthe chamber into two chambers 40 and 41. That portion of each stencil 36 containing the word Up forms one wall of each 7 chamber 40, and that-portion of each stencil 36 containing the word Down forms one (ill wall of each chamber 41; W ithin each chamber 40 is placed a lamp 42,.and within each chamber 41 is placed a lamp 43. The two lamps 42 are connected in series, and the two lamps 43 are connected in series. Thus, when lamps 42 are lighted, light rays pass through the openings forming the words Up in stencils 36, and when lamps 43 are lighted, light rays pass through the openings forming the words Down in stencils 36. A screen 44 is provided for receiving the image of the letters formed by the rays passing through each stencil, each stencil and its cooperating screen being preferably parallel. A green "in red letters;

transparent glass 45 is placed between each lamp 42 and stencil 36, and a red transparent glass 46 is placed between each lamp 43 and stencil 36, thuscausing the Word Up to appear in green and the word Down'to' appear in red. A bell 47 of the singlestroke type is placed electrically in series with lamps 42, and likewise,in series electricallywith lamps43. A cover plate 48 is provided for casing 30. The interior of easing 30'and cover plate 48, and the partitions 33 and 38 are all painted dullblaclr.

1 The operation of the lantern is identical with that described in" connection with the lanternsof Figuresl to 4, inclusive. When the lamps 42 are lighted, the word Up vappears in green upon each screen 44, and when the lamps 43 are lighted, the word Down appears in red upon each screen 44. Upon either set of lamps 42 o r'43 being lighted,

bell 47 is energized for causing an audible signal to be given. I

It is possible to simplify the construction shown in Figure 5 by eliminating one of the lamps, for instance a down lamp. Suchv a construction is shown in Figure 6. A casing 50 is provided, casing 50 containing and supportlng two screens 51 and two stencils'52, the screens and stenclls being Identical in construction with those described. A chamber'53 is formed by the'two stencils 52 and one wall of casing 50. Partitions 54 subdivide chamber 53 intotour chambers 55, 56,

57 and-58. "An up lamp 60 is placed within each chamber and 56, and a'down lamp Y 61 is placed within chamber [58.

Between each fup lamp and each stencil 52 is placed a greentranspare nt glass 62, and between down lamp Gland each stencil 52 is placed a red transparent glass 63. A'single stroke signal bell 64 is placed Within chamber 57. Bell 64'and lamps 60 are connected electrically in series, andbell 64 and lamp 61 are connected electrically in series. A cover plate 65 is providedfor casing'50. The interior of casing 50 and cover plate 65, and partitions 54, are all painted a dull black. I, I When lamps 60 are lighted, the word Up is projected upon each screen 51 in green le ters, andwhenlamp 61 is lighted, the word Down is projected upon each screen 51 Upon either the lamps 60 or the lamp 61 beingjlighted, bell 64 is energized for giving'an audible signal; I

It is pointed out that the hall lantern is one'of. very small proportions. It has an upon the same space allotted to the word Down, the horizontaldimension is greatly reduced. It should also be noted thatias neither refiectors nor lenses are necessary,

the size of the lantern may be very small. The lantern shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive may be convenientlyinserted in the wall, the screen being flush with the wall surface. Likewise, either of the lanterns shown in Figures 5 and 6 may be installed with its base portion inserted in the wall, only its projecting portion being visible. The lanterns not only occupy a small space but present a very neat appearance.

It is pointed out in particular that the hall lantern avoids any chance for mistake on the part of prospective passengers. The wrods Up and Down are distinctly flashed upon the screen at the proper times in different colors. lVhen the lamps are not lighted, the screen presents a milky white appearance.

It is further pointed out that lanterns of the same design may be used at the terminal floors as well as at the intermediate floors. It is only necessary to remove one set of lamps to accommodate the lantern to either of the terminal floors. For instance, for the top floor the up lamps are removed, and for the first floor the down lamps are removed.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

A lantern for indicating the direction of movement of an elevator car comprising; a casing having a base for mounting said lantern on the corridor wall and two walls of equal length, said casing approximating a triangle in section with the walls forming the sides thereof; a screen mounted within each wall of said casing and visible from the exterior of the lantern, the angularrelationship of said walls to said base enabling the visibility of a screen from each end of the corridor; a pair of stencils within said casing, one of said stencils being spaced from and parallel to one of said screens and the other of said stencils being spaced from and parallel to the other of said screens, said stencils and base forming a chamber within said casing, and each of said stencils having apertures forming the words Up and Down; partitions extending between said stencils and said. base dividing said chamber into two side compartments and a center compartment, that portion of one of said stencils containing the apertures forming the word Up forming one wall of one side compartment, that portion of the other stencil containing the apertures forming the word Up forming one wall of the other side compartment and that portion of each stencil containing the apertures forming the word Down forming a wall of the center compartment; a lamp in each side compartment, said lamps when lighted causing the passage of light rays through said apertures in the walls of their respecting side compartments to project the word Up upon each of said screens; a lamp in said center compartment, said lamp when lighted causing the passage of light rays through said apertures 1n said walls of said center compartment to project the word Down upon each of said screens, said lamps, stencils and screens being positioned relatively to each other to cause the words Up and Down to be symmetrically projected upon each of said screens with letters of the same size; a sheet of transparent material of one color in each of said side compartments between the lamp therein and the stencil for causing the word 

